Lear Readings (1 Viewer)

[skypryn]

Can somebody please post a list of possible readings that can be taken of any play. I only know a few - feminist, marxist, nihilistic etc.

also, maybe a brief explanation with each one? thanks

 

[schmackers]

king lear- Aristotelian tragedy?

hey guys....

i'm kinda confused about the aristotelian tragedy reading of king lear... what aspects of the play do you think this interpretation ignores/neglects? What points could be used to argue that it is NOT an aristotelian tragedy? I've heard that it's because there's a subplot and this doesn't follow the conventions of an aristotelian tragedy? is that true? Cos, on the other hand, i thought that the fact that gloucester's storyline parallels Lear's, it strengthens the tragedy cos gloucester is a "tragic hero" as well?
ahh! so confused! any help would be appreciated .. thanks heaps.

 

[mazza_728]

I always believed that an aristotelian tragedy dealed with the idea of tragedy and had certain characteristics:
5 acts
a protagonist with a fatal flaw and eventual tragic downfall
climax act 3 where hero is in state of chaos
after climax protgonist has a revolution
and order is only restored after the death of the protagonist.

I think King Lear relates very well to an aristotelian tragedy, some productions emphasise this and others dont! Lear's fatal flaw is his vanity and pride, his hubris! This is what leads to his downfall! My only problem with King Lear being describes as an aristotelian tragedy is that in some productions they do not convey a restoration of the kingdom. Especially with the bondi production we were left with a suicidal kent, a drunk in Edgar and a terrible actor Albany! It was unconvincing and I personally dont see these three characters, in this production, being able to restore and effectively run the kingdom. Other productions convey Albany as a noble and honest man and at the end of the production I am truly convinced of his ability in running a kingdom. I've never thought it was anything to do with the subplot and like you believe that the subplot in no way takes focus away from Lears journey instead it strengthens the journey, the change and the growth by showing parallels.

Good luck xoxo

 

[skypryn]

it has elements hubris, catharsis, hamartia and forgot the other. look them up it'll help you out

 

[bluechilli]

Basically an Aristotelean tragedy has the following:
1. Unhappy endings and an overall progression from order to disorder, harmony to disharmony
2. characters of superior quality and higher social status
3. catharsis
4. a plot built around a downturn and eventual recognition of a true appalling state of affairs
5. a hero or heroine who is noble but is eventually undone by hamartia, usually in the form of hubris
6. a chorus which comments morally/philosophically on the action

Basically if you are doing a traditional reading, I think the aristotelean tragedy is the best way to go. Because, after all, the play IS titled the Tragedy of King Lear.

 

[skypryn]

oh yeah, pathos

 

[danie]

nihilistic : nothingness or something to that effect

nihilism : is a humanist religion that believe there is nothing after death there is not purpose blah b;ah something like that

correct me if im wrong

 

[malkin86]

There's KL as a grotesque comedy - with Cordelia's death the final ironic joke.

“The mingling of a terrible pathos with an awful absurdity in Lear reaches its culmination in the mad scenes. But this mingling is felt elsewhere: in the indignity with which Edgar is fooled by his clever brother in the beginning and made to skip out of the window as in a farce, in the scene of Gloucester’s attempted suicide … It is at the very heart of the play, in the scenes of the passion of Lear and Gloucester, that we have at moments a feeling that, if we were beings lifted above the clouds looking down on this spectacle, we might see it as a mighty universal comedy: man’s blindness and folly, his childish ignorance of himself.”

(from King Lear by Helen Gardner C.B.E. M.A., D. LITT., F.B.A., F.R.S.L, the John Coffin Memorial Lecture delivered before the University of London on 2 March 1966)

This view of lear is encapsulated in Gloucester’s speech : “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport”

 

[danie]

if ur doing pschoanalytical would that be referring to a freudian response? if so would you use the theory of the three caskets and make references to other stories such as the myth of paris? and furthermore da notion of muteness=death as exemplified in the story of the twleve brothers and that cordelia is atropos the goddess of death, the cutter of the thread? if so has this helped u skypryn?

 

[danie]

ohh and a scene that would represent that would be the final scene where lear is carrying cordelia, this is symbolic of his acceptance of death. theres a site where there's a further explanation though i cant remember it at the mo.

 

[mazza_728]

i fully dont know about any of the type problem!!!
maybe feminist and a bit political but thats it lalala!

 

[kochou]

how about domestic, domestic and feminist seem to go hand in hand so it'll be easy... well in the eyre production it is

 

[mazza_728]

i dont even know about the eyre production!

 

[malkin86]

The eyre production is the BBC production with Ian Holm, and a bunch of other people. It has a table, to represent the family aspect of it, and red to represent blood ties. (you know the dining table, that if you have, you only eat at it when you have guests.. )

 

[anti]

If you have NO idea about a reading and you're not interested in it whatsoever, don't bother reading about it - they should NEVER ask you a question about a specfic reading.

Feminism/Gender Studies
Marxism/Materialism?
Existentialism
Lacanian/Saussurian
Family conflict/Power struggles
Freud
Nihilism, which is a rejection of values - it's quite interesting and not as immoral as you might think, considering the cultural context which spawned it

 

[kochou]

i was reading this handout on gender reading and it was really disturbing with the craziest ideas

 

[elven_princess]

what about absurdity?

 

[04er]

nature

 

[passion89]

How about post-structuralist:
This is the standard Elizabethan reading which shows the importance of the wheel of fortune, fate, God etc and places emphasis on reason vs emotion. With the post-structuralist interpretation, Lear has done a terrible thing in dividing the kingdom and giving the 3 parts to women - and so ONE reason for his death may be the restoration of order and Lear's punishment.

 

[BigBear_25]

Annother reading you could use is Existentialist.

This reading is related to the 'Chaos Theroy' and the 'Theatre of the Absurd'

Basically it looks at philisophical ideas like what is the meaning of life, what is it to be human ect.

You can look that the Peter Brook's Production (sometime in the sixties).

You can look at the storm scene part the heath infront of the hovel. With Lear, Poor Tom and Kent. Also the scene at dover the attempted suicide of Gloucestor.

Quotes you could use:

"Oh reson but not the need"
"...Man's life is as cheap as beast's"
"I am a man more sinned against than sinning"
" As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport.”
Hope this helps